FLEURISH
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Make-A-Wish Colorado Wine & Wishes brings Beatlemania
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LOCAL
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Clarity Commons opens at Arapahoe High School
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
Volume 32 • Number 39 • August 21, 2014
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Clean Energy Collective shines new light on solar
Aug. 16 was a special and memorable day in Centennial for the Claire Davis family – as well as for Arapahoe High School’s students and staff – with the debut of Clarity Commons.
At Wine & Wishes “A Tribute to The Beatles” a wall of silent auction items greeted the 150 guests, many who came in Beatlemania and hippie outfits to fit the theme.
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Clean Energy Collective’s 11 “community solar gardens” in Colorado include a 500kw system in Aurora. Rather than selling panels for roofs, the firm sells panels located in the solar arrays of Clean Energy’s “gardens.”
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Index
Page 4........................................ Opinion Page 8................................... Classifieds Pages 9-18.................................Fleurish Pages 19-20.....................................digs Pages 21-23.................................Legals TheVillagerNewspaper
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6 District th
Showdown Coffman and Romanoff argue immigration and more in first debate
“I don’t want the government – and I don’t want an employer telling a woman how to make her own health care decisions,” Democrat Andrew Romanoff, right, said in response to incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman during their Aug. 14 debate organized by the South Metro Denver Chamber. Photo by Peter Jones
By Peter Jones ith Hispanics constituting one in five residents of Colorado’s reconfigured 6th Congressional District, it is no surprise that immigration reform was a major issue in the first debate between Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger and former Speaker of the Colorado House Andrew Romanoff.
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The two hopefuls squared off Aug. 14 at Hilton Garden Inn in Highlands Ranch for a two-hour standing-room-only forum organized by the South Metro Denver Chamber. About 400 people crowded into the hotel conference room and hallway. Both candidates had past positions and actions to answer for in connection to the contentious question of what to do with the nearly
11 million immigrants now living in the United States illegally. Coffman has previously opposed broad system-wide reform and aligned his views with those of his controversial 6th District predecessor and immigration firebrand Tom Tancredo. Meanwhile, Romanoff spearheaded divisive 2006 state legislation that denied many government services to unlawful immigrants.
More recently, Coffman has notably softened his views as the once Republican-safe 6th District has inched into Democratic-leaning and ethnically diverse Aurora. “I believe in a step-by-step approach to immigration reform,” he said of his current views, in response to a question from moderator Aaron Harber. “It has to do three things. We have to be able to secure our borders and enforce our laws.
I think, secondly, immigration policies have to grow the economy and not be a burden on taxpayers. And I think, third, we have to be compassionate.” While Coffman opposed a recently defeated congressional measure for broad reform, he touted his own bill that would allow those brought to the country illegally as children to earn citizenship through Continued on page 5
‘Putting garbage in the state Constitution’ Arapahoe County gambling proposal under fire
By Bob Sweeney The Arapahoe County Citizen Budget Committee held its monthly session at the County
Courthouse in Littleton, Aug. 13, commencing at 6:30 p.m. The group is appointed from all areas of the county by the commissioners to address citizen concerns about countywide expenditures and protecting citizens pocketbooks. They were concerned about the gambling
industry relocating to Arapahoe County with few local county controls and votes, and that was the agenda item for the monthly session. The meeting was highlighted by the attendance of County Commissioner Nancy Doty and her interest and concerns about
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Amendment 68 amending the state Constitution to permit casino gambling at horse racetracks in Arapahoe, Mesa and Pueblo counties, limited to one racetrack in each county, and to distribute new casino gaming Continued on page 6
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